Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 14 merges three applications into one, with faster video playback for editing, Fairlight audio engine support and new colour grading tools.
First up in this update is the new video playback engine, which promises to deliver up to 10 times better performance and response when scrubbing the timeline and using JKL shortcuts. When working with CPU/GPU-heavy or compressed formats such as H.264, 4K, or multi-camera sequences, the 16-bit float playback will aid in smooth, real-time viewing of video clips in the timeline or in preview windows.
To simplify the round-tripping workflow, Blackmagic Design has included the industry-standard Fairlight Audio engine into DaVinci Resolve 14, giving editors and audio professionals all the tools required to mix and master hundreds of audio tracks inside the software. Equalization, compression and dynamics, automation and mastering tools are all available, from mono up to 22.2 surround sound with 3D panning for a complete immersive audio experience.
For colourists, more than 20 new effects have been added including a new stabiliser. Another new effect is the face refinement filter, which automatically recognises and tracks facial features. This is done without rotoscoping and can be used to adjust uneven skin tones, add natural colour and brighten eyes.
Collaboration features will also allow editors, colourists and mixing engineers to all work on the same project file simultaneously. Collaborators can use clips others are working on, and even use a chat client to discuss progress with others. For large team productions, working simultaneously on a sequence in real time could save a lot of back-and-forth between team members. Once separate changes have been made, sequences can be compared and merged together with ease.
There are many other handy features in the new update, including colour-assigned timeline tracks, undo history list, distortion and de-haze effects to name a few.
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 14 is available to download for free here, but remember that this new update has just been released and there could be bugs or issues that have yet to be addressed. Some of the new features may only be available in the DaVinci Resolve Studio version, which at €259 is considerably cheaper than an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
Will you be checking out the new features in DaVinci Resolve 14? Have you switched from another NLE to Resolve recently? Let us know in the comments.

As post-production workflows get further streamlined by advances in editing software, the demand for a more fluid process of finishing a video and uploading it to a platform is high. Vimeo has addressed this need with a new extension panel for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, allowing for a faster upload process and review pages for PRO and Business members.
Waiting for a sequence to encode, then uploading it to Vimeo and waiting for conversion is a pain, especially if you’ve got clients waiting to see previews of work or a deadline to meet. For Adobe users who enjoy the flexibility of Dynamic Link between apps, this new integration is a sigh of relief to further simplify the post production workflow.
For Vimeo free and Plus members, you get the functionality of uploading videos directly from within of Adobe Premiere Pro CC, with a choice of resolutions and codecs, and privacy options for the video to be made public immediately, or private for further reviewing.
PRO and Business members get an additional tool for reviewing videos within a video review page, which allows for timecode based comments from other users, similar to Wipster. This is very useful for the sometimes lengthy back and forth with clients wanting edits, so including this feature should speed up the reviewing and finishing time in post.
This is great news for Premiere Pro CC users who have missed out on Vimeo’s integration (and YouTube as well) that has been present in FCPX for a number of years. In the past, the desktop Vimeo app for Windows was not as useful as users wished it to be, and although there are export format choices built into Premiere Pro CC and Media Encoder CC, a direct link to Vimeo for Adobe apps never existed.
To download the plug-in panel, follow this Vimeo link.
Have you needed this tool from Vimeo to speed up your workflow? Also, if you’ve been using the panel already, let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Avid Media Composer 8.5 was released not too long back and brought with it quite a few nice features, including HDR support, an overhauled menu, improved drag and drop within the timeline and more. This update seems aimed at improving workflow while simplifying the interface—both welcome additions by any Avid editor’s standards.
Media Composer 8.5 Installation Issues
Before I begin looking at the features that 8.5 has delivered, it’s probably worth noting that a few people have had difficulty with downloading the update through the Application Manager. If you’re one of those people, make sure you’re using the most recent version of Avid App Manager—if your manager is up to date and it still doesn’t work, a reinstall may be the solution (or you can go old school and install 8.5 manually).
With that out of the way, it’s time for a quick look at what Media Composer 8.5 brings to the table.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support
Avid have jumped on the HDR wagon. That’s right. Media Composer users now have color spaces for HDR available for Dolby Vision, Sony S-Log3, BBC/NHK, and ACES profiles! This provides support for higher ranges of video signal, enabling automatic transformations dependent on the selected color track for a given project.
Avid is recommending that HD projects use the 10 bit DNxHD444 and HQX while anything higher than HD should use the 12 bit DNxHR444 and DNxHQX.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/N4faeCRAQP
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
High-Visibility Timeline Editing
The timeline has been fired into the modern era, with clips remaining visible until they are dragged—at which point, they turn transparent so that you’ll be able to keep tabs on the overall layout of your timeline. Furthermore, if you have waveforms turned on, they’ll remain visible to ensure that clips can be lined up easier.
If, for some reason, you prefer the old wireframe style then don’t despair—that can be turned back on from within Timeline Settings.
High-Visibility Timeline Editing—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/MSafd0pryj
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Another workflow improvement is the ability to add tracks to the timeline by dragging a clip vertically. It does seem that there is a limit of adding one track at a time using this method. An audio track to match will be automatically created during this process.
Adding Tracks in the Timeline—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/fRXMK3ZhKv
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
64 Audio Tracks
Gone are the days of 24 tracks of audio. Instead, Media Composer 8.5 offers 64 mono tracks—or voices. Of course, not all audio is equal and neither is the number of voices used per track per format.
Mono – 1 voice
Stereo – 2 voices
1 – 6 voices
1 – 8 voices
Waveform Analysis
Avid are a bit late to the party with this one, but still, it is nice to see that waveform analysis has been added to Media Composer 8.5. A quick look at social media shows that people are having mixed results with Avid’s answer to Waveform Syncing—for now, though, Media Composer users should be happy that it has finally been included; it’s a start and any shortcomings shouldn’t take too long to iron out.
Sync Lock Trimming
Media Composer 8.5 allows Sync Rollers to be enabled for Sync-Locked tracks. While this feature is set to be abundantly useful, it is going to take a while to get used to two new rollers, gray and dim yellow, have been added to the mix.
Trimming with Sync Locks On—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/PwVHeGCUEM
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
There’s also the new ‘end of trim’ indicators, which look great for helping to understand the effects that various trims will have on the timeline.
Changes in Trimming Clips—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/C8mDetlBFu
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
FrameFlex Rotation
Images can be rotated or straightened at source level using a Z Rotation slider found in FrameFlex. Once any changes that you make to the source image in this way have been added to the timeline, you’ll also have the ability to animate them using the Effect Editor. Finally, these settings will be saved and available for reuse in the clip metadata.
FrameFlex Rotation—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/ohNpLRJW59
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Custom Columns for Bins
A major improvement for organizing projects, adding custom columns to a bin in Media Composer just got a whole lot easier with the release of 8.5. Simply hit ‘Add Custom Colum’, name your new addition, and then do as you please! In the event that you choose more than one column to add to the bin, they’ll appear to the right of your selected column—and if you’ve not selected one, they’ll be sent straight to the far right.
Adding Custom Columns to a Bin—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/OBuSwrgWCI
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Menu Simplification
Much like the timeline changes, the new-look menu seems to be aimed at helping new Avid editors out a bit. Items have been shuffled around into more logical positions, including the Timeline, Composer, and Fast menus. For more information on the exact changes made, and the new locations of those menu items, check out the What’s New Guide (PDF).
Menu Simplification—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/77a5cr5IKx
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Media Composer 8.5 also brings an update to the Effect Palette interface, making it easier to filter effects and find the items that you’re looking for. Thanks to new categories (including one for transitions!) and a search box, the process of navigation the once almost unnavigable just got a little bit better!
Effect Palette Update—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZDXvw#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/euDomqoZqa
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Video Memory and Video Frame Cache
Media Composer 8.5 brings with it better response times, via caching any played frames (and their effects) in RAM. This allows frames to be replayed from the cache, rather than regenerated, reducing the resources required for the next run through. Furthermore, users can now increase the video memory allocated to Media Composer which should aid in reducing underrun errors.
Video Memory and Video Frame Cache—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/eyriZZmm6W#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/cJOpih50eq
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
Audio Mixer Update
After years of users wondering why the Audio Mixer has been so unintuitive, Avid seem to have made a few steps towards improving it. An expand/collapse style has been added to the interface for controlling the track selector, which still leaves one question: why can’t the mixer just be resizable?
Audio Mixer Tool Changes—Now available in Media Composer 8.5 https://t.co/v7BwM2iugp#avid#mediacomposerpic.twitter.com/tJkXVS7qhf
— Avid Media Composer (@MediaComposer) January 29, 2016
OS Support: Windows 10 and OS X 10.11
Media Composer 8.5 brings official support for Windows 10 and OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) operating systems
Media Composer 8.5’s Other Features
Of course, there’s more to the update than just those listed. These include:
Identifying rendered effects
Opening a Settings Dialog in the Project Window
Preset Project Format Management
UI Customization, such as background color and Bin and Project font and font size
Grouping clips by Waveform Analysis
Timecode Burn-In update
Applying the same text to a column for multiple items
Linking and importing Broadcast Wave files
Audio track Ordering Layout name change
Avid Media Composer 8.5 has been out for a little over a month now and the features and updates included have tackled some issues that were a little overdue and helped Avid users improve their workflow. By Avid’s standards, 8.5 has been a fairly huge update and I’m personally looking forward to future updates to some of the new additions to the package.
Keep your eyes peeled for some more in-depth, hands-on articles that’ll be coming after the Cinema5D team have had a chance to fully immerse themselves in Media Composer 8.5—for now, though, how has your experience of the update been? Let us know in the comments!

In an industry full of obscure acronyms, ACES probably ranks among the most obscure. The Academy Color Encoding System attempts to standardize how color is handled from acquisition through post and delivery.
ACES is not even that difficult to understand.
First of all ACES is a workflow, it’s a means of interpreting and processing image data in post in a scene referred linear color space with input and output transforms that relate to specific non-linear devices.
We’ll first take a look at how ACES handles color information, and why.
So what is a scene referred linear color space?
The essence of a scene referred linear color space is far simpler than you may imagine. It is a direct digital representation of linear luminance levels as they appear in front of a camera lens. Or, worded differently, it is a one to one relationship between real-world brightness and the data that represents it in an image file.
Why don’t we work this way?
Imaging sensors actually see light exactly this way; they have a linear response to light.
One reason we don’t record image data values linearly in camera but employ a curved or log gamma function (aka log, flat, film look) is that we can reduce the required color bit depth and file size by reassigning values to describe finer increments, or steps in luminance at the darker end of the luminance scale than the brighter end.
In other words, when we shoot “log” we are assigning a larger number of smaller “steps” to the shadow and mids, and fewer larger steps to the highlights.
This is a clever way to squeeze a higher total range of brightness (dynamic range) into a limited bit depth in a way that is visually unnoticeable. A non-linear gamma function allows for a more efficient assignment of the values in relation to the perception of human vision.
Log encoding also better suits some grading functions, which may not behave as expected with linear encoded files.
How ACES works
The IDT
So if our camera files are not encoded as scene referred linear, but ACES works in a scene-referred linear space, then how does ACES handle camera files?
The answer is simple, the 10-bit, or 12-bit log encoded values in the camera files are transformed into scene-referred linear space using an IDT, or Input Device Transform. You can think of this almost as a type of LUT. When stored or rendered to file, these are 16-bit half-float EXR files.
Because every camera is different, each camera requires a specific and dedicated ACES IDT.
The ODT
Once we are working with our images successfully transformed into the ACES space, we need to make sure we are seeing them correctly. This is where an ODT, or Output Display Transform comes in.
There is no such thing as a perfect, or completely unbiased monitoring device. You can’t monitor scene-referred linear image information. Every monitor display technology has limits and can only display a limited color gamut.
A display device expects to receive input data encoded with a non-linear gamma response according to a standard video color space and needs to be calibrated to either Rec709, DCI-P3.
Just as every camera needs a specific and dedicated IDT, the same is true for display devices and rendered file outputs from ACES into standard delivery color spaces.
Preserving your look
The last piece of the puzzle worth mentioning is a unified and platform independent method of retaining your intended look once graded. This is another transform called a RRT or Reference Render Transform. The RRT will ensure no matter what new output devices and color spaces come out in future, your intended grade will always be preserved.
As HDR and true Rec2020 UHDTV display technology becomes a consumer reality, demand will increase for content with full and rich colors, encoded in a color space with a far wider gamut than anything we are currently used to.
Although it is still early days and ACES does have some technical issues, many believe ACES is the future of digital color.

Red Giant, famous for popular post production software tools for filmmakers, has announced the release of Magic Bullet Looks 2.5 today. The new update is a complete rebuilt, and takes advantage of GPU accelerated hardware. This is a free update for current users of Looks and the Red Giant Color Suite. The update includes new color correction tools, better previewing of presets, and a major bump in speed. How much faster and better? Let’s take a look …

Sonnet recently announced a new rack mount enclosure for the Mac Pro known as the xMac Pro Server. The 4U rack mount enclosure for the Mac Pro has integrated 3 PCIe slots, Thunderbolt 2 technology and expandability of Echo Express III -R. This could be the mounting option many broadcasters, and filmmakers require for the rack mounted systems.

Earlier this week, we took a look and reviewed a plugin from Core Melt for FCPX known as Slice X. This time around Core Melt has brought us a tracking tool for replacing images and signs, tracking texts and graphics with moving objects, all within FCPX. The plugin is known as Track X and is powered by Mocha once again. Does it have the same polish as Slice X ? Let’s dive in …..

Final Cut Pro X has been developing over the past couple of years. The users have been very passionate about their NLE and third party developers like Core Melt have developed powerful and useful tools for FCPX. In this case, we have a new plugin known as Slice X. Let’s take a closer look…